Nepal today said it will officially recognise Sherpa guides who scale mountains including Mount Everest, reversing a controversial decision to stop issuing summit certificates to the mountain guides.
The government is positive on granting summit certificates to Sherpa guides, a Tourism Ministry official said.
Last year, the government announced that it would stop issuing summit certificates to Sherpas and only officially recognise the climbs of foreigners who pay permit fees, which comes around USD 11,000, for permission to summit the Everest.
Nepal receives USD 3 million from climbing royalty and the Sherpas are the backbone of the country's mountaineering industry. Without the help of the Sherpas it will be almost impossible for foreign mountaineers to reach the peaks of the high Himalayas.
"A proposal was recently forwarded by the Department of Tourism to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation for providing certificates to the Sherpas and the ministry is positive in this regard," said Joint Secretary Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, who is also the spokesperson at the ministry.
Hundreds of Sherpa guides staged a sit-in earlier this week at Mt Everest base camp demanding recognition to their climbs by the government.
Nearly 400 foreign climbers are currently embarking on their climb to the 8,848-metre peak and the help from the Sherpas will be crucial for their successful attempt to summit in the coming weeks.
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